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AOC, other liberal Dems in spotlight at immigration hearing

by Alan Fram, The Associated Press

Posted Jul 11, 2019 9:52 pm PDT

In this June 27, 2019, photo, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., prepares to do a television interview on Capitol Hill in Washington. Friday’s House Oversight and Reform Committee’s session comes as partisan and internal Democratic tensions near a boil over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON — Four freshman Democrats who reported squalid conditions at migrant detention stations at the southern border are taking the spotlight at a House committee hearing.

Friday’s House Oversight and Reform Committee session comes as partisan and internal Democratic tensions near a boil over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

Surging numbers of families, children and other migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico have overwhelmed the government’s capacity to house them adequately.

Democrats and Republicans are fighting over the treatment of the arrivals, whose numbers have surpassed 100,000 monthly. Progressive Democrats are accusing moderates and party leaders of too readily compromising with Republicans on the issue.

The four Democrats who testify will include progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. All were among House members who visited border stations last week.